Cytheni
Cytheni The Cytheni are a species of intelligent, humanoid insectoids that inhabit Khergovia, the most south-easterly region of Estemoria. They previously inhabited Khagaria, immediately north of Khergovia, but were driven out at some point in the 3rd century BC by Human expansion. They do not possess and never did possess any magical ability, but are thought to have been created by magic, as there is no feasible explanation for how they might have evolved. The name "Cytheni" is a corruption of "Kyçeni" (where ç represents a voiceless palatal fricative), the name by which the Cythenis call themselves. The Cytheni are humanoid, possessing two arms and two legs, standing on average 5 feet 8 inches tall. The Cytheni have a strong black chitin exoskeleton, adorned with yellow or orange swirling patterns around the edges of each chitin plate which are unique to each Cythen. At the shoulders, head, along the spine and the front of the thighs and forearms, there is another layer of chitin plate on top. The joints between the exoskeleton show black flesh underneath. The claws at the ends of their hand and feet are also black, as are their twin antennae and hard, thick hair. The Cytheni do have an internal skeleton as well, but this is not particularly substantial. They are the only insects to have mammal-like eyes, possessing black sclerae and yellow or orange pupils (usually the same shade as their patterns). Compared to Humans, Cytheni are not very strong, but are agile. There is virtually no sexual dimorphism between male and female Cytheni, the only sign of gender (besides genitalia) being that males typically have sharper, more geometric shapes in the patterns on their exoskeleton, compared to the smoother, more flowing shapes of the females. The shape of the pattern has very little impact on how attractive a Cythen is perceived to be, but colour homogeneity across the body and with the eyes is considered a desirable trait. Cytheni do not live in typical insectoid hives, but their social structure operates much like a hive, preferring to live in relatively small communes with shared resources and services. Although males outnumber females by a large margin, Cytheni are exclusively monogamous - those males that do not mate serve as workers for the hive as a whole and make up the bulk of soldiers. Although most of these celibate Cytheni mourn never having children, most are content with their role in society and accept their celibacy once it becomes obvious. Cytheni generally only have basic care for their own physical and mental health, but are extremely concerned with the wellbeing of others - as such, there are many Cytheni doctors, although they lack the social intelligence required for nursing. This is likely due to their communal hive mindset. Their hives are rarely democratic, being ruled by a monarch, usually but not always a Queen. The Cytheni are omnivorous, but generally prefer to eat plant matter, other insects and strangely have a taste for fish despite living well inland. The Cytheni have intelligence in excess of Humans, their IQ averaging 130. They are generally not as creative or imaginative as hominids, but excel at logical thinking such as mental arithmetic, have excellent memories and love precision. Cytheni exhibit some obsessive-compulsive behaviours, being greatly disturbed when objects are out of place, often having particular rituals they need to complete before being able to sleep, and being distressed by inaccuracies. They also have lower social intelligence, often not picking up on the more subtle social cues and having difficulty interpreting subtext, double meanings and sarcasm. Cytheni take around two months to hatch after being laid, and another six years to reach maturity. The average lifespan of a Cythen is 71 years, and the oldest known Cythen lived to 88. Usage in War Cytheni, being weaker than comparable hominids, are unsuited to front-line combat, but the introduction of gunpowder and predominantly ranged warfare negated this disadvantage. Typically, Cytheni served and still serve as light troops, and they make excellent scouts due to their superb memories. However, the area where the Cytheni were and still are often most crucial is in administration, as they excel at managing vast lists of soldiers and equipment and seem to quite enjoy these tasks rather than loathing them as hominids do. Cytheni were also important to mapping out the land for military purposes (a process that started with Emperor Athdus III), as their excellent memories and natural love for precision made them ideal map-makers. As warriors, Cytheni were always considered supbar until the Nesarian Civil War, when the Cytheni hives unified and fought for independence, reforming their style of war and heavily drilling their soldiers to become expert marksmen, typically using the rifle rather than the musket, who could accurately fire during flight. Although the Cytheni were subdued, their tactic of massed flying rifles was devastating, as many soldiers on the ground simply could not hit them. The Cytheni continued to be employed in this way until the First World War when it was found that machine guns and long-range flamethrowers meant flight was no longer a safe haven.